About
A synthetically-produced drug with the informal name of methamphetamine; it is a potent stimulant that affects the central nervous system. The drug was first synthesized by Nagayoshi Nagai in 1893 and was categorized as a substance of the amphetamines class.
Meth is known to have the molecular formula or C10H15N and has euphoric, stimulant effects that make it one of the most addictive drugs in the United States. It is a Schedule II drug, meaning that it has its medical uses but commonly used illicitly. Its effects have manifestations on vital statements like heart rate regulation, blood pressure, body temperature, appetite and cognitive reactions such as responses linked with alertness/alarm conditions, mood and attention.
The drug comes in various forms depending on how it was manufactured. It can be used as a crystalline powder with different levels of fineness. Being the most common form of the drug that can be found or sold in the streets, it resembles chalk dust.
Pure crystalline is colorless but those mass available are usually white or off-white. Other rare colors produced are green, yellow, pink, or depending on what they were made or cut with. It can also strongly resemble cocaine. Methamphetamine can have a pungent smell similar to urine or rotten eggs if mixed with other ingredients. Crystalline powder intake is through snorting, injection to the vein, swallowing, and dissolving in water.
Crystal meth is a solid form of methamphetamine. It has a similar consistency as shiny glass fragments, rock salt or the quartz stone. Crystal meth is made through the dissolution of pure crystalline until clear and chunky crystals are seen. These are translucent in color but often has a bluish hue. The substance is often smoked/injected and has a lasting high than its powder form. It is called by several names: Batu, Blade, Cristy, Crystal, Glass, Escante, Hot ice, Ice, Ish, Quartz, Shabu, Shards, Shit, Stove top, Tina, and Ventana.
Methamphetamine can also be in pill or tablet form that can be swallowed or its vapors inhaled. Users also crush the pills to be snorted or dissolved so they can be injected. Yabu tablets are meth tablets that come in green or reddish colors containing 30 percent methamphetamine and caffeine. In the market, they are smaller than aspirin tablets and their logos are often stamped with the letters R or XY.
The drug in liquid form is rare but available. It is stored in liquor bottles and containers; its consistency is syrup-like and dark yellow and is converted to shards and powder before being made and marketed.
Meth is known in different names to differentiate their purposes. Medically, it can be called Desoxyephedrine, Desoxyn, Deoxyephedrine, Hydrochloride, Metamfetamine, Methamphetamine, Methylamphetamine, N Methylamphetamine, and Hydrochloride, Methamphetamine.
Street names for the drug are a more colloquial way of referring to the drugs. These include Beannies, Brown, Chalk, Crank, Chicken feed, Cinnamon, Crink, Crypto, Fast, Getgo, Go Fast, Methlies Quik, Mexican Crack, Pervitin, Poor Man’s cocaine, Redneck cocaine, Speed, Trash, Tick tick, Tweak, Wash, Yaba (referred to in South Asia), and Yellow Powder.
Effects
Methamphetamine stimulates the release of all brain hormones or neurotransmitters at all once. Those particularly affected are noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine; their main function is to send signals through the brain and body.
Noradrenaline is a neurotransmitter that has a fight or flight chemical composition that alerts an individual to respond to threats. An increase of this neurotransmitter can be manifested through fluctuations of blood pressure and heart rate, dilated pupils, and the widening of the air passages.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and affects all kinds of functions such as digestion, appetite, sleep, and social behavior while dopamine (the happy hormone) releases feelings of pleasure when engaging in health and interactive activities. In some instances, it is responsible for attention and memory.
Once meth is ingested, it has three times the amount of dopamine than cocaine. Its potency can raise a person’s dopamine level ten times higher than a non-drug pleasurable activity. The initial short-term effects of meth are the opposite of euphoria, especially after the drug has left the system. Other mood-related short-term effects are irritability, forgetfulness, restlessness, and overfatigue.
Long-term effects of meth can result in long-term physical and mental damage. These are anxiety, birth defects in children (if meth users are pregnant women), brain damage, cardiac arrhythmia, possible coma, damage to brain cells, liver, and kidney and stroke for extreme cases. Long-term mental disabilities include paranoia, psychosis, hallucination, and depression.
Behavioral symptoms can be violent tendencies and persistent scratching while physical symptoms are skin sores, teeth deterioration, and bloodshot eyes. Drug users could be at risk of HIV and other infectious diseases if needles carrying the substance are shared.
Addiction and Treatment
The user rate has grown steadily high through the years because of methamphetamine’s extreme addictive potential. Effects from this drug results to powerful feelings of pleasure and those who get addicted after using it only once. Recreational users consciously seek the drug due to its euphoric manifestations and are typically unaware of its risks. Tolerance for the substance increases as the dose gets higher; compulsive use produces feelings that in time makes one crave more of the drug.
The danger of meth addiction lies at how fast the user can become dependent on the drug. It only takes one to two uses for an individual to get addicted. Because of this, it can be one of the hardest substances to get off the habit. The decision to stop the methamphetamine intake is a huge risk in the right direction. Staying in the clear path, however, can be challenging due to the intensity of substance’s withdrawal symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms refer to the abnormal reactions a person’s body goes through after discontinuation of an illegal drug. Its potency makes for withdrawal symptoms to be as intense as its high. Symptoms start from 24 hours after intake onwards. Main physical symptoms are the feeling of lethargy, fatigue or tiredness that are less harsh that the drug’s mental effects. The treatment process can remove feelings of pleasure that can lead to depressive symptoms.
Withdrawal symptoms based on time frame are:
24 to 72 hours after intake sees the user experiencing the physical deprivation of the drug that manifests through fatigue, strong depression, paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, and suicidal thoughts.
The first week of symptoms makes the body feel strained from the lack of drugs. The person experiences cravings, body aches and pains, poor concentrations and weight gain to overcompensate the lack of sensation. In the second week, it is expected that the user undergoes mental and emotional challenges such as mood swings and other mental effects.
Treatment of Meth is a slow process because it is one of the hardest addictions to recover from. Professional and reputable health is a recommended form of treatment. Family members, peers, guardians, and authorities are also encouraged to be involved in the therapy process to not only discuss options with you but also be part of the different treatment modalities.
